Slow-closing valve.



J. H. CARR. ,7 SLOW CLOSING VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT-15,1915.

' Patented Nov. 30

JOHN CARR, or nvnnnr'ryivrnssncnosnrrs.

SLOW-CLOSING VALVE.

Specificationof Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. so, 1915 Application filed. October 15, 1915. Serial No. 56,631.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, JOHN H. CARR, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Everett, in the county of Middlesex and- State'of Massachusetts, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Slow- Closing Valves, of which the following is a specification.

. The object of the present invention is to provide an improved slow-closing valve suitable for controlling the discharge of water from flushing tanks. e

It is desirable that the outlet valve of a flushing tank be opened quickly and held open automatically for a suflicient lengthof time to permit the discharge of all or nearly all the water in the tank, and to close automatically when the desired volume of water has been discharged.

The valve which embodies the present invention includes cooperative telescoping members which together form a dashpot, into which dashpo-t water isadmitted from the tank. The closing movement of the valve is retarded by restricting the escape of water from the dashpot. I am aware that the use of a dashpot for this purpose is not broadly new, U. S. Patent to Smith, 391,659, showing a flushing valve including a dashpot for this purpose. In the Smith patent above mentioned the admission of water to the chamber of the dashpot is controlled to some extent by acheck valve, said check valve being arrangedzto close as the main valve moves toward its seat, to retard the escape of water from the dashpot. A check valve for this purpose is sometimes unsatisfactory because it may stick, and if it fails to close when it should the closing movement of the main'valve will be too rapid to permit the discharge of the necessary volume of water from the tank. One cause of stickingv is due to the accumulation of slime and other dirt deposited in the valve mechanism by the water, and in order to overcome the difficulty it is necessary to take the valve apart and clean it. The benefit of cleaning is only temporary at best because more slime or other dirt will continue to-accumula te as water is circulated through the tank;

My present invention embodies other -means than a check valve for controlling the admission of water to and the discharge of waterfrom the dashpot, said means being positive in action, or as nearly pos tive as s consistent with the fact that the closing movement of the main valve is due to grav- 1ty. The mam valve 1S made sufiiciently heavy to insure closing movement, and its weight is utilized to efiect the control ofthe water which is admitted to andv discharged from the dashpot.

Of the accompanying drawings 'which illustrate one form .in whichthe present invention-may be embodied: Figure l represents a side elevation of my improved flushing valve as applied to a flushing tank, the

latter being shown in section; Fig. 2 represents a vertical section, on alarger scale, of

the valve structure. Fig. 3 represents an elevation. of the structure-within the range of line 33 of Fig. "2. Fig. 4 represents a top plan view of the structure shown by Fig. 2. V i

The same reference characters indicate the same parts wherever they occur.

A portion of a flushing tank is indicated at 10 in Fig. 1. The valve seat member of a flushing ;valve is indicated at 11, and the flushing valve is indicated at 12. The valve and valve-seat member areso arranged that the valve will open as it moves upwardly. A lug 13 at the upper endof the valve is connected with the usual operating lever (not shown) by suitable'means which will enable the valve to turn to a limited extent about a vertical axis. Such connecting means in the present instance includes a' lifting rod 14 the lower end of whichis hookedthro-ugh the lug 13. The valve is tively soft material such as leather, said disk being arranged to engage the annular seat 16 formed upon the member 11. n g

. Theupper portion of the valve 12 is in the form of a sleeve, but' is closed at the top. The internal surface of the sleeve portion is cylindrical, and it is adapted to slide on a portion forming an integral part of the valve-seat memberll and bridging across thedischarge passage 20 of said member. The guiding member 17 is provided with a stem 21' which extendsthrough the bridge portion 19 and is provided with a nut 2:2.

.90 made sufliciently heavy to close firmly and is provided with an annular disk 15 of relapurpose of enabling the guiding'member to tilt to a limited extent so that the main valve may seat accurately.

For the purpose of admitting water from the tank into the chamber 18 of the dashpot the tubular member 17' is provided with a slot 2% and the sleeve portion of the valve is provided with a port 25. The port normally registers with the slot 2% and it is only during the closing movement of the valve that the port is out of register with the slot. In order to cause the port and slot to permit the admission of water to the chamber 18 and to prevent the discharge of water therefrom the slot is made crooked. In the present instance the lower portion of the slot is parallel to the axis of the tubular member and the upper portion 24 is substantially helical. The fundamental prin ciple of the invention does not necessitate this specific form of slot, as will be understood afteriurther description, for it would be within the scope of the invention to have the slot helical throughout its length. The chiefccnsideration, so far as the slot is concerned, is that the upper end of the slot shall be out of vertical alinement with the lower end of the slot, to the end that the port '25 out of register throughout the greater portion of the closing movement of the valve.

It is desirable, however, that the port 25 remain in register with the slot throughout the upward movement of the valve in order to maintain open communication between the tank and the chamber 118 to admit water-to the latter so'long as the effective area of the chamber increases. I

V In order to maintain the port'in. register with the slot throughout the upward movement of the valve, Iprovide meansadapted to turn the valve in one direction, and in order to move the port back into register with the slot when the valve is closed I provide means for turning the valve in the opposite direction, said means enabling the valve to traverse a substantial proportion of its closing movement'while the port is out of register. In the present instance the means for this purpose comprise cam surfaces formed upon the valve and a suitable fixture arranged to coact with such surfaces, The cam surface indicated at 26 is the one which acts during the upward movement of thevalve to cause the port to follow the helical portion 2a of the slot. The cams'urface indicated at 27 is the one which causesthe port to move back cated by dotted lines at25 in Fig. 2.

8. and 29 upon the exterior of the sleeve portion of the valve. The fixture which co operates with these cam surfaces is indicated at 30. This fixture be mounted in any desirablc manner so long as it'bears the desiredrelation to the valve. In the present instance the member 30 is made an integ all part of a collar 31, and the latter is rigidly secured to a standpip'e 32 which in valves of this kind is usually provided to take care of overflow from the tank. The collar 31 is bored and tapped and provided with a setscrew 33 whereby it may be set up tightly on the pipe, audit is provided with a dowel 37 which slipsinto a socket 38 to insure the desired cooperation of the port 25 and slot 2e.

Figs. 1 and 2 show the valve in its closed position, and they also show the port25 as being in register with the-lower end of the slot, thusmaintaining open communication between the tank and the chamber 18 of the dashpot. As the valve is lifted the port will normally, follow the straight lower portion of the slot, but as the port reaches the curved portion of the slot the cam surface 26 engages the fixture 30; and if the upward movement of the valve be continued to carry the port as high as the upperend otthe slot, the cam suriace 26 traversing the fixture 30 will cause the valve to turn so that the port will follow the crooked or ofi'set portion er of the slot; Consequently as the effective area of the ch amber 18 increases with the upward-movement of the valve, open communication between said chamber and sald tank willbe maintained so that water may flow into the chamber to keep the latter filled. When the valve is raised to its highest position the port-will occupy the position indi- Now it the'valve be released it will descend under the force of gravity and the first partof its descent will not be accompanied by any rot-ative movement. The port will therefore traverse the path indicated by the series of arrows in Fig. '2. Before the valve has traversed a substantial part of its downward movement the port will have moved out of register with the slot, thereby closing the chamber 18 so far as this means ofescape is concerned. It is necessary, however, to permit the water in the chamber 18 to escape slowly, and for this purpose the valve is provided witha restricted outlet 3%, 35 (Fig. 2)

'will also escape between the telescoping surfaces of the valve and guiding tube 17, but this would probably be negligible. In any event, asthe water escapes from the chamber 18 through the restricted outlet or outlets the valve descends at a speed commensurate with such escape; but before the valve reaches its seat the cam surface27 moves into contact .with the fixture 30 and'as it traverses said fixture it causes the valve to turn in the opposite direction, thereby moving the port back into register with the lower portion of the slot.

The actual registration of the port with the slot begins before the valve quite reaches its seat, and the water in the chamber 18 is thus permitted to escape more rapidly so that the last stage of downward movement of the valve will be accelerated. The valve will therefore engage its seat with a forcible impact which is desirable for this purpose. Such acceleration and the consequent impact may be amplified bv giving greater relief to the dashpot, and I have shown ports 89 and 10 for this purpose. These ports register when the valve is in its closed or initial position, but move out of register as the valve rises. They remain out of, register until the valve in its downward travel is comparatively near its seat, and the rotative movement as caused by cam 27 puts them in register at about the same time that port :25 moves back into register with slot 24.

It is to be noted that the opening and closing of the passagewa through the port 25 and slot 24: is caused by elements which act positively, the qualification being used with due regard to the fact that the descent of the valve is due solely to the force of gravity. However, if the valve is moved vertically its rotative movement would in every case be positive, and there would be no opportunity for the port and valve to fail to move into and out of register provided the necessary vertical movements of the valve occurred as intended.

The wiping action of the sleeve portion of the valve upon the tubular member 17 tends to keep the telescoping surfaces free from slime or other dirt which might otherwise accumulate on them, and when the device has once been installed with the parts correctly adjusted there would be no possibility of failure of operation.

It would be within the scope of the present invention to interchange the slot 21 and port 25, that is, to form the port in the telescoping member 17 and the slot in the telescoping member 12. It would also be within the scope of the invention to form a series of ports instead of the elongated slot 24, for the effect would be substantially the same. The invention contemplates broadly any means capable of turning one telescoping member relatively to the other as the Valve rises and falls, to control the admission of water to and the discharge of water from positively the dashpot chamber substantially as described.

I claim 1. The combination with a valve, of a dashpot comprising two principal elements one of which is movable longitudinally with relation to the other, and one of whichis capable of rotativemovement relatively to the other, said longitudinally movable element being so movable with said valve as the latter opens and closes, said two principal elements of said dashpot having cooperative openings arranged to be moved into and out of register by turning said rotative element, and means arranged to turn said rotative element in consequence of operating said valve, to register and unregister said openings for the purpose stated.

2. The combination with a valve, of two hollow cylindric telescoping elements forming a dashpot, one of said elements being movable longitudinally as said valve opens and closes, and means arranged to turn" one of said elements relatively to the other in consequence of operating said valve, said elements having cooperative openings arranged to be moved into and out of register with each other by such turning of'said one of said elements.

3. The combination with a valve, of two hollow cylindric telescoping elements forming a dashpot, one of said elements being united with said valve so as to move longitudinally as the valve opens and closes, said elements having openings arranged to be moved into and out of register with each other by relative rotative movement of said elements, and means arranged to turn said one of said elements in consequence of operating said valve, to register and unregister said openings for the purpose stated.

4. The combination with a valve, of two hollow cylindric telescoping elements forming a dashpot, the outer one of said elements being united with said valveso as to move longitudinally as the valve opens and closes, one of said elements having a substantially helical slot and the other having a port arranged to register with said slot, and means arranged to turn said outer element in consequence of longitudinal movement thereof, to cause said port to follow said slot as the valve opens, said outer element being movable to unregister said slotand port as the valve traverses its return movement.

In testimony whereof I have atfixed my signature.

JOHN H. CARR.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

